Introduction to Psychology

Introduction to Psychology animals can learn which stimuli are important and which responses are likely to result in goal attainment, thereby allowing them to regulate their behavior and adapt to the environment. • Personality- Personality has a strong genetic contribution, though not as strong as that for intelligence. Shared family environment seems to have little impact on the development of personality traits. Unshared individual experiences are far more important environmental determinates. • Intelligence- Intelligence has a strong genetic basis, with the individual inheriting a range for potential intelligence that has upper and lower limits measured through IQ testing. Environmental effects will then determine where the person falls within these genetically determined boundaries. 2.3 Nervous System The evolutionary history of our species, the genes inherited from parents, and life experiences have shaped us. From a psychological perspective, the most important physical organ is the brain. To understand how the brain controls experience and behavior, we must first understand how its individual cells function, and how they communicate with one another. Neurons- Neurons are the basic building blocks of the nervous system and are the pathways for communication. They are also referred to as nerve cells. Components of the Neuron- Each neuron has three main parts: a cell body, dendrites, and an axon. The cell body, or soma, contains the biochemical structures needed to keep the neuron alive, and its nucleus carries the genetic information that determines how the cell develops and functions. Emerging from the cell are branch-like fibers, called dendrites, which are specialized receiving units like antennae that collect messages from neighboring neurons and send them on to the cell body. There, the incoming information is combined and processed. All parts of a neuron are covered by a protective membrane that controls the exchange of chemical substances between the inside and outside of the cell. These exchanges play a critical role in the electrical activities of nerve cells. Extending from one side of the cell body is a single axon, which conducts electrical impulses away from the cell body to other neurons, muscles, or glands. Many axons that transmit information throughout the brain and spinal cord are covered by a tube-like myelin sheath, a whitish fatty insulation layer which accelerates the transmission of information. Synapse- The parts of a single neuron are physically connected, so electrical signals are able to travel from one end of the neuron to the other without interruptions. Between neurons, however, is a small gap. The junctions where the end of one neuron meets the beginning of another is called a synapse and the gap between them is called the synaptic gap. Communication across this gap is accomplished with neurotransmitters, rather than with electrical impulses. Nerve Impulse- Neurons do their work through the use of electrical impulses and neurotransmitters. A signal (information) from a sense receptor or another neuron, coming in through a neuron’s

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